 Hi, I'm Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. The City of Columbia, like so many great cities, has had to overcome two hurdles resulting from the COVID-19 public health crisis. The first was asking our citizens to quickly and dramatically change everything about their lives, the way they work, go to school, worship, shop, and entertain themselves. We were successful and inspired by the way the people of Columbia unselfishly changed their lives for the better good of community health. The second hurdle was overcoming the severe economic downturn. It was devastating to see so many working citizens lose their employment and income and watch so many businesses shutter their doors, uncertain if they could ever reopen. Again, we rose to the challenge, assisting hundreds of small businesses with millions in emergency funding. Now that we've made progress in reducing the spread of the virus and our businesses have begun to reopen, I encourage everyone to maintain social distancing to prevent a resurgence. Everyone should stay at least six feet away from others, wash or sanitize your hands often, and please wear a mask or other form of face covering when you're out in public.